Who's who in the Russia-Trump investigation

Ivan Sekretarev / AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that some "patriotic" individuals may have engaged in hacking in the U.S. election, but continues to deny government involvement. After President Barack Obama announced sanctions on Russian spy agencies and expelled 35 diplomats, Putin declined to immediately retaliate, drawing praise from President-elect Donald Trump. On Jan. 17, 2017, Putin took a parting shot at the Obama administration, accusing it of trying to undermine Trump's election and calling a dossier alleging Russian spy agencies collected compromising material on Trump as "nonsense." In a Jan. 28, 2017, phone call, Putin and Trump discussed combating terrorism, confronting Islamic State militants, the crisis in Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear deal. After a report that Trump revealed classified information in a May 10 meeting with Russian diplomats, Putin offered to turn over to Congress records of the discussion. In a June interview with NBC's Megyn Kelly, Putin dismissed as "a load of nonsense" that Russia has damaging information on Trump.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that some "patriotic" individuals may have engaged in hacking in the U.S. election, but continues to deny government involvement. After President Barack Obama announced sanctions on Russian spy agencies and expelled 35 diplomats, Putin declined to immediately retaliate, drawing praise from President-elect Donald Trump. On Jan. 17, 2017, Putin took a parting shot at the Obama administration, accusing it of trying to undermine Trump's election and calling a dossier alleging Russian spy agencies collected compromising material on Trump as "nonsense." In a Jan. 28, 2017, phone call, Putin and Trump discussed combating terrorism, confronting Islamic State militants, the crisis in Ukraine and the Iranian nuclear deal. After a report that Trump revealed classified information in a May 10 meeting with Russian diplomats, Putin offered to turn over to Congress records of the discussion. In a June interview with NBC's Megyn Kelly, Putin dismissed as "a load of nonsense" that Russia has damaging information on Trump.